Hand operated arbor press



June 26, 1962 B. F. DU WALDT HAND OPERATED ARBOR PRESS 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed June 24, 1960 Benjamin F. DuWa/dr INVENTOR.

Q BY non flaw 12m June 26, 1962 a. F. DU WALDT 3,040,656

HAND OPERATED ARBOR PRESS Filed June 24, 1960 2 SheetsSheet 2 4 Benjamin 1-: DuWa/df INVENTOR.

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United States Patent 3,040,656 HAND OPERATED ARBOR PRESS Benjamin F. Du Waldt, 3114 N. Monitor Ave, Chicago 34-, Ill. Filed June 24, 1960, Ser. No. 38,633 2 Claims. (Ql. 100-288) The present invention relates to certain new and useful improvements in a rack and pinion type arbor press wherein the pinion, which is geared to the teeth of the rack, is hand operated by way of a readily accessible and freely turnable handle.

Persons conversant with the state of the art to which the persent invention relates are aware that arbor presses are of many and varied styles, forms and types. While other prior patents might well be used here to facilitate making certain observations and expressing points of view, reference will be made to the Krasberg Patent 2,336,262 which is characterized by a base having a standard attached to and rising therefrom with the standard provided with head means on the upper part thereof, the head means being equipped with a plunger rod having a rack, the rack being operated by a crank-turned gear pinion.

It often happens in a press having the above general construction that repeated use of relatively movable parts results in wear and ultimate lost motion. In addition, the directly coacting surfaces of the plunger or ram soon become defective with the result that undesirable friction binding between component parts has to be coped with. In fact, to overcome this the patentee Krasberg has found it necessary to resort to the use of special bars to maintain alignment of coacting parts. Then too, and as might well be the case in Krasberg and similar adaptations the pinion and rack gear thrust is in a direction away from the compensating aligning bars that it becomes conceivable that undesirable binding could become so troublesome that binding parts might easily prevent satisfactory operation of the reciprocable rack rod or plunger. Compared to generally analogous prior art adaptations the instant invention utilizes a reciprocable ram or rack bar which is such in shape that it reliably insures a user higher accuracy (parallel, horizontal and in between planes) than any arbortype press known to this applicant. In fact, the ram is so designed as to be independent of any interference from pinion gear and rack binding.

As will be appreciated, the ram-herein revealed is self-contained, is independent of any bars or bushings to cramp its free and smooth accurate movement and, as a matter of fact, is one of the only two moving parts of the over-all press. The upper end of the ram for prac tical efficiency is provided with a novel stop located in the direct line of downward thrust of the ram. The invention is also advantageous in that it includes other featured parts.

For example, the main casting of this press has two of the three bearing surfaces in contact with the ram, and the two surfaces (an integral part of the casing) align the ram in all possible directions of vertical, horizontal and in between a cap is fitted to the press which is the third side of the guide means for the ram. This cap may be adapted to any working tolerance of fit desired and may be refitted to accommodate all wear due to use of the press.

Further, novelty is predicated on the cap fitted to the ram having a centrally located spring pressure pad of soft metal with sufiicient thrust to remove all working tolerance or any opening due to temperature change from the ram, thereby permitting extremely close alignment to be maintained. The main casting of the press is designed to have a table overhang on both sides to fasten fixtures and remove fixtures with press in bolted down with requisite nicety as brought out in FIG. 3.

position. When press is made with deep throat casting, a slot is cut in table overhang to permit use of measuring device with direct scale reading.

These together with other objects and advantages which will become subsequently apparent reside in the details of construction and operation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

FIG. 1 is a view in perspective of an arbor type mechanical manually operated and controlled press constructed in accordance with a preferred adaptation of the instant invention.

FIG. 2 is a view in perspective of the rack-type ram.

FIG. 3 is an exaggerated horizontal sectional view on the plane of the line 3-3 of FIG. 4, looking in the direction of the arrows.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged view in section showing all of the primary component parts.

FIG. 5 is a horizontal section on the plane of the line 55 of FIG. 4.

As is evident, the aforementioned base, which is generally rectangular in plan, is denoted by the numeral 6 and has a forward end portion 8 with overhanging end extensions 10 defining a work table at the approximate center of which is 'a vertical socket 12. The standard which is attached to the right hand end portion of the base is denoted by the numeral 14 and rises vertically and terminates in an offset head here designated generally by the numeral 16. This head embodies a generally rectangular block-like plate or body 18, the median portion of which has a vertical slot or channel centrally positioned as shown in FIGURE 3 and which has vertical parallel diverging side walls 20. This slot or channel opens through the upper and lower ends and also the fiat front vertical side of the head. Integrated with the rear side of the median portion of the head is a horizontal cylindrical open-ended bearing 22 perched on and braced by a reinforcing and stabilizing web 24- as shown in FIG. 1. The rear median portion of the channel opens, as at 26, into an aligned median portion of the bore of the cylindrical bearing 22. This groove or channel provides a guideway for the novel vertically reciprocable rack bar or ram 28.- This ram is solid and has the polygonal cross-section shown which actually may be referred to as trapezoidal and perhaps even truncated triangular (the word polygonal, often referred to in reference to four or more sides,'may be used here, it is believed in a generally applied sense). It follows that'the polygonal ram has sloping sides 30 (FIG/2) and a plane back 32 and a truncated front 34 provided with teeth 36 definingan operating rack. The guide for the ram is of corresponding cross-section so that the divergent surfaces cooperate As is also brought out in FIG. 3, the aforementioned back surface 32 is flush with the corresponding surface 38 of the head. On the other'hand, the teeth36 of the rack project through the opening 26 into the bore of the sleeve or bearing 22. In order to maintain the rack in its slideway or groove a cap plate 40 is provided andthis is fitted firmly against the surface 38 and is secured by headed screws or equivalent fasteners 42. At the approximate center of the cap plate a horizontal hole 44 is provided and this construction provides a socket for a socalled soft brassbutton 46 positioned and held by a biasing spring 48 with-the spring assembled and held by a screw plugSll threaded into the outer end of the socket.

The numeral 52v in FIG. 3 in particular designates a shaft having a smooth portion at the right and a ribbed portion 54 at the left with the ribs cooperating and defining a pinion gear. The pinion teeth obviously mesh cooperatively with the teeth 36 of the rack. The shaft isheld in place on the left by a washer 56 and cap screw 58. At the opposite end of the shaft is slightly enlarged as at 60 to provide a stop shoulder 62. This enlarged portion 60 constitutes a head and is provided with .a bore 64 to accommodate a slidingly mounted handle 66 held in whatever position may be desired by the setscrew 68.

In addition to the above features the invention embodies a limiting stop comprising a block or an equivalent fiatbottom member 70. This block has an opening at the center slidingly mounted on the upper protruding end of the'ram and held in place by a setscrew 72.. 'The block is adapted to contact a manually regulatable stop screw 74 (FIG. -4) carried by the top of the head and having a screw-threaded shank 76 carrying a lock nut 78. This limit stop 70 is also provided with a rigid wedge-shaped key 80 which is engageable with they teeth of the rack thus offering the user this novel construction and arrangement.

It will be plain to the reader that the press herein disclosed will serve the needs of a user in that it provides straight line thrust with precise alignment for general shop use such as punching holes, forming -material, pressing breaches and all pressing requiring a straight thrust line Without'spring. Not only this, it will be evident that because of the precise alignment and exact operation of the rain, tools may be interchangeable without removing adapters. A battery of low cost presses, such as herein revealed, can be setup in production work to do work now requiring far more expensive machines. In fact, with this press small shops will be able to perform accurate Work. Then too, the construction is such that the rack and pinion means could be powered with the use of an air cylinder or some equivalent practical source of power.

The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention as claimed.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

1. An arbor press comprising a base haying upright means embodying a head, said head having a body portion which is provided with a vertical channel defining a ram guide, the walls of said channel diverging toward the outer side thereof and renderingsaid channel substantially dovetail-shape in cross-section, said outer vertical side of said channel being open from top to bottom, a vertically slidable ram removably and slidably mounted in said channel, said ram corresponding in cross-section to the cross-section of said channel, a cap plate removably mounted on the head and having a portion bridging and covering the openvertical side of said channel, a centralized portion of said plate having a'constantly accessible socket provided with a spring-loaded soft metal wear compensating button, said button engaging a cooperating vertical surface of said ram, an opposite vertical side of said ram having a rack projecting through said channel, said head having a bearing, a rotatable pinion gear operatively mounted in said bearing and having teeth cooperating'with the teeth of the rack, said bearing being of open-ended cylindrical sleeve form carried by and being a part'of said head, and said pinion gear constituting a portion of a shaft which is removably and rotatably mountedin the bore of said bearing, limit stop means for determining and checking the downward movement of said ram relative to thehead and base, said means comprising a fiat-bottom block movable toward and from the upper surface of said head and said upper surface being fiat and parallel and provided with an upstanding manually regulatable stop screw occupying a position between the head and block surfaces, said block having a passage therethrough corresponding in shape to the cross-section of that portion of the ram on which it is accessibly mounted, said block having a setscrew engageable with a cooperating surface of the ram, said block being further provided with a wedge-shaped key, a portion of said key constituting a horizontal rib and said rib being of a cross-section and size to be releasably engaged with adjacent cooperating teeth provided on the aforementioned rack.

2. An arbor press comprising, in combination, a base having a work table, a standard fixed to and rising perpendicularly from a top surface of said base, said standard having a laterally directed upper end terminating in a head, said head having an integral sleeve providing a bearing, said head having a body portion provided with a vertical channel defining aram guide, thewalls of said channel diverging toward the outer side thereof and rendering said channel substantially dovetail-shaped in cross section, a ram removably and slidably mounted in said channel, said ram corresponding in cross-section to the cross section of said channel, a cap plate removably mounted on said head and having a portion bridging and covering a cooperating outward side of said channel, said plate having a constantly accessible socket, a springloaded Wear resisting member in said socket having a surface engaging a cooperating surface of said ram and tending to properly seat and maintain the ram in its sliding position in said channel, that portion of the head at the juncture of the head and said bearing having an opening affording communication between the bore of said bearing and channel, a shaft mounted for rotation in said bearing and provided at one end with an operating handle, a portionof said shaft being further provided with cooperating ribs defining a pinion gear, the inner side of said ram having a rack projecting through the inner side of said channel, certain of the teeth of said rack projecting through said opening into the bore of said bearing, the ribs of the pinion being operatively engageable with said teeth, a limit stop block for determining and checking the downward movement of said ram relative to the head and base and movable toward and from an upper surface of said head, an adjustable manually regulatable readily accessible stop screw operatively mounted in a position between cooperating surfaces of said head and block, said block being accessibly, adjustably and removably mounted on a projecting upper end portion of said ram, a horizontal lengthwise portion of said block adjacent to the teeth of said rack having an open-ended bore, and a readily insertable and removable retaining key fitted in said bore, said key being of across-section that a keying edge thereof corresponds in shape to intended spaces between the teeth of said rack and being releasably engageable with the teeth of the rack, said key being renewable.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 522,208 Hiser July 3, 1894 825,273 Henry July3, 1906 987,370 Jenness Mar. 21, 1911 1,038,543 Eames Sept. 17, 1912 1,103,179 Elliott July 14, 1914 1,106,500 Eames Aug. 11, 1914 1,522,124 Hoisington Jan. 6, 1925 2,177,939 Johnson Oct. 31, 1939 2,525,805 Kirkpatrick Oct. 17, 1950 2,574,653 Miller Nov. 13, 1951 

